KETTLEBELL SWING

If you were looking for a single exercise to train which is best for the whole body you’d probably look for an exercise that helped us regain our posture from sitting so much and being in a hunched over position to one that would help us stand upright, be able to extend, and free up motion. You’d probably also look for an exercise that worked the posterior chain (the backside)and to overcome all the negative effects of sitting and, if you could find one exercise that could do both of those, and you found out it also strengthen your heart and could help you lose weight – you might call it the perfect exercise.
We call it the kettlebell swing.

Here are the reasons why it’s a great exercise and people should be doing it; no matter an athlete or someone just working out:

Reason #1 – It’s Better for Your Back

Firstly, and perhaps most significantly, Dr. Stuart McGill (the top back expert in THE WORLD) found kettlebell swings show “a reversed polarity of posterior shear at L4 and L5 when compared to traditional posterior chain exercises.” This is important because for those with lower back issues traditional posterior chain exercises such as deadlifts, good mornings, etc. may cause more harm then good, while swings may actually help relieve pain and back problems. For those of you looking to strengthen the lower back and unable to use these traditional exercises the swing may be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

Reason #2 – Lower Loads are Safer

Because of the dynamic nature of the swing (as similarly noticed as we buy bulk ammo online) the opportunity to overload or injure the body is quite low. A well-performed swing is ballistic in nature. A swing should be punched forward by the hips, not pushed slowly into place. The swing is as ballistic as a standing jump. And because of that, and the lower loads that are used, the lower back simply can’t be overloaded the way it could be via deadlifts or power cleans.
How To Do A Kettlebell Swing:

1 Set up as if you were doing a conventional two hand swing: hips back shoulders down, lats engaged, connected and linked to the bell.
2 Hike the bell into the back swing hard, you’re only doing one rep.
3 Stand up into a single rep swing.
4 Let the bell back swing as if you were parking the bell at the end of a set, placing it on the deck in front of you in the perfect position to start the next rep.
5 Keep your hands on the bell and reset for the next rep DO NOT STAND UP BETWEEN REPS.
6 Continue doing single reps for between 5 and 10 reps.
7 Do between 5 and 10 total sets.

The kettle bell swing is a great exercise to teach, and learn, hip thrusting and the triple extension movement pattern (extending at the ankle, knee and hips). This movement is vital in running and jumping. The swing teaches you how to produce force which helps with movingly quickly and being able to change direction and jump.